December 18, 2023 (press release) –
FSC is kicking off the new year with a series of webinars to support our EUDR offer -FSC EUDR Aligned- a modular set of solutions that will support FSC certificate holders in EUDR compliance efforts. All webinars will take place twice to cater for the different time zones of FSC’s global stakeholders.
The series of webinars will kick off with a public webinar on 18 January 2024: EUDR - One Year to Implementation (Registration details below). This webinar will provide FSC stakeholders with a broad overview of the efforts FSC has undertaken in relation to the EU’s Regulation on Deforestation Free Products (EUDR).
The public webinar will introduce FSC’s offer, one of which is the development of requirements for the FSC Regulatory Module: a voluntary module that complements existing FSC certification requirements to support EUDR compliance. It presents additional forest management, chain of custody and controlled wood requirements for organizations looking to use their FSC certification to support their efforts to demonstrate compliance with EUDR. The FSC Regulatory Module sets the framework and requirements to:
- introduce a due diligence system to support EUDR compliance, including information collection, risk assessment and risk mitigation,
- gather and transmit precise information on the origin of products (geolocation and time of production),
- offer a traceability system that goes beyond the current FSC chain of custody, and
- adds further assurance that only deforestation-free material enters into an FSC chain of custody value chain that needs to be EUDR compliant.
FSC’s new Policy to Address Conversion and Risk Assessments
To further tighten the FSC system to deliver deforestation-free products, FSC is also bringing forward implementation of the changes required as part of FSC’s new Policy to Address Conversion, which was voted for by members in 2022. These changes will, for now, be introduced in the form of Advice Notes to the existing certification system - which will ultimately ensure products from any sort of conversion that is possible, even in exceptional circumstances as in the Policy to Address Conversion, do not enter the system as an “FSC Claim.”
The final piece of the normative alignment towards EUDR is the FSC Risk Assessments. These are the next generation of FSC’s existing risk assessment framework for controlled wood sourcing. We envisage that these will become an invaluable tool for companies to assess and mitigate risks efficiently. The public consultation for the above normative introductions/changes will be open from 1 February to 1 March 2023.
Summary of all upcoming webinars related to FSC and EUDR
The webinars to learn more about changes being introduced are also now open for registration and will be available in simultaneous interpretation into Spanish and French. Register below!
EUDR- One Year to Implementation- an update of EUDR and FSC’s work around this important policy initiative
- Thursday, 18 January 2024, 9:00-11:00 CET (Register here)
- Thursday, 18 January 2024, 16:00-18:00 CET (Register here)
Consultation webinars focusing on FSC normative framework:
Webinar on FSC Regulatory Module, systemic changes and FSC Risk Assessments
- Tuesday, 13 February 2024: 9:00 CET (Register here)
- Monday, 19 February 2024: 16:00 CET (Register here)
Webinar on FSC Regulatory Module and systemic changes
- Wednesday, 14 February 2024: 9:00 CET (Register here)
- Wednesday, 14 February 2024: 16:00 CET (Register here)
Webinar on FSC Risk Assessments
- Tuesday, 20 February 2024, 9:00 CET (Register here)
- Tuesday, 20 February 2024, 16:00 CET (Register here)
As well as the incoming normative changes, FSC’s alignment towards EUDR will be strongly supported by the upgrades that FSC is working on to improve its certification infrastructure towards digitization and improved data management and access. These include the FSC Forest Atlas and FSC Blockchain. All of these digital and normative solutions come together to create a comprehensive package called FSC EUDR Aligned.
To learn more about FSC & EUDR, please visit our webpage or read our FAQ. Stay informed on the evolution of the FSC Regulatory Module by checking the process page.
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